Without rehashing the disturbing events at the recent Nevada Democratic State Party Convention (you can read an account about it here, if you are unfamiliar), what's getting at least as much attention is the reaction of the Sanders campaign, and the candidate himself, to the violence, chaos and misogynist harassment that followed. First, please read Sen. Sanders' statement in response to the incidents in Nevada.Now, let's hear from three of Sanders' supporters about that response.
Markos Moulitsas:
So to recap, your supporters create so much havoc at the state party convention that convention hall officials shut down the event out of security concerns. Sanders responds with 1) stump speech and then more stump speech, 2) arguably valid point about painting too broad a brush about his campaign, 3) condemnation of poor behavior!, but 4) unfounded insinuation that other side started it with acts of violence against his campaign, 5) a litany of debunked claims about what transpired at the convention, and 6) the end. It’s everyone else’s fault, so while such violence is wrong, well, who could blame them?
... Honestly, all this confusion and even attempts at mischief-making [from caucus and party rules] could be avoided with a saner system. BUT, that’s all a separate argument, apparently for a different time. Because right now, we can’t even get a clean, unmitigated condemnation of violent rhetoric, actions, and harassment from Bernie Sanders!Harold Meyerson:
But now, what is arguably the most successful left campaign in the nation’s history stands in danger of being undone by an infantile fraction of its own supporters. The threats of violence, the shouting down of such lifelong liberals as Barbara Boxer, and the growing desire of some in the campaign, both on its periphery and at its core, to walk away from the real prospect of building left power by refusing to work with allies and potential allies in the Democratic Party—all these now threaten the campaign’s potential to bring lasting change to American politics. [snip]
... Threats by texts and by tweets will only cost Bernie votes in California and weaken him going into the convention. The perception that the Sanders campaign itself is indifferent to this kind of idiocy will hurt it even more.Martin Longman (BooMan):
So, Bros—do Bernie a favor. Grow up.
... Sanders needs to inject some realism into this process. His supporters are fighting like hell for him, which is good. But they seem to think the stakes are still for the nomination. If they’re so riled up about a small handful of delegates that some of them are hurling chairs, shouting down senators, and issuing death threats, they need to hear from Sanders that all that nonsense isn’t going to accomplish anything and it needs to stop.Well, as Sen. Sanders' statement reveals, he's not ready to yank the Bernie Bros' chains quite yet. That's not what we thought we were getting with Sen. Sanders who, rather than leveling with his supporters about the rules and procedures that have governed the primaries, seems eager to trash the Democratic Party as dishonest and corrupt. As progressive Democrats for 46 years longer than Sen. Sanders has been, we deeply resent that tack. It not only smacks of Naderism, but plays right into the hands of neo- fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump, who's the real danger here.
So, yes, let's have some realism from the Sanders camp, not conspiracy theories and wild accusations that drive people away from the party. The stakes are far, far too high.
BONUS: Josh Marshall fingers the ultimate culprit.
BONUS II: Steve M. draws an invidious comparison.
BONUS III: Joy-Ann Reid says it's time to level with the Sanderistas, Bernie.
BONUS IV: Paul Campos on letting go.
BONUS V: Wonkette has had it with the misinformation.
UPDATE: VP Joe Biden commented yesterday:
“That’s not Bernie,” Biden told reporters in Columbus, Ohio. “And what Bernie’s going to have to do if that happens again — he’s going to have to be more aggressive in speaking out about it.”
Sanders
didn't acknowledge that, in and of themselves, separate from whatever
unconnected violence happened months ago, the violent, sexist language
and explicit threats ("someone will hurt you") are fucked up. That's
goddamned disheartening and, really, a missed opportunity to talk about
the meaning of non-violence. Instead of strong condemnation, Sanders
gave his worst voters a pass. - See more at:
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/#sthash.Qhj9c7az.dpuf
Sanders
didn't acknowledge that, in and of themselves, separate from whatever
unconnected violence happened months ago, the violent, sexist language
and explicit threats ("someone will hurt you") are fucked up. That's
goddamned disheartening and, really, a missed opportunity to talk about
the meaning of non-violence. Instead of strong condemnation, Sanders
gave his worst voters a pass. - See more at:
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/#sthash.Qhj9c7az.dpuf
